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Evenguard TruthShield
Evenguard TruthShield, later Evenguard the Paladin, was a Human member of The Order of the Red Crossed Heart prior to ascending to the position of the representative of the Paladin at the council of The Twelve Angels. She served The Church of the Crossed Heart from 472 NP - 529 NP. Pre-Ascension Before entering the Order of the Red Crossed Heart Born in 458 NP Evenguard TruthShield was born into a poor family within the slums. Gifted with Physical caster magic, she refined her skills in secret and would use them for nefarious purposes within the back alleys around where she lived. At age 13 she had a close run in with The Witch-Hunter's Order, an ordeal she narrowly escaped by taking refuge inside a small church. In the following days, hoping that the Witch-hunters presence would die down, she aided the priest of the church in her daily tasks, finding the monotony cathartic enough to take her mind off the sense of impending doom. On the 5th day of hiding a group of paladins arrived at the church, headed by a young Aurora. The priest, suspecting that it was only a matter of time until Evenguard was caught, had called the Order of the Red Crossed Heart to ferry the young girl to safety within one of the larger temples. She was disguised as a fellow Order member and hastily ferried back to The Cathedral of Light within tier III. She spent the next two years of her life entirely within the compounds of the Cathedral, fearing that she was not strong enough to survive if the Witch-Hunters found her again. In this time she trained herself in the arts of swordsmanship and, in secret, refined her magical abilities. Within the Red Crossed Heart Upon her 16th birthday she enlisted into the Order of the Red Crossed Heart, being given the task of defending the cathedral. Her first true assignment took her to the tip of the North Island, an arid desert, in search of a cult who intended to resurrect some sort of demon. Her squadron consisted of 14 new recruits, including herself, and a commander in the form of Aurora. The fight became a bloodbath as soon as the squad arrived. The cultists, expecting the church to mount an attack, had set up a defensive position. Bullets rained down from above, tearing through those who did not wear heavy armour, and in a panic Evenguard released a bolt of lightning towards the cultists, arcing from one to the other like a snake. Of the 16 who went only 5 survived, none of them mentioning Evenguards secret. Shortly afterwards Evenguard was transferred to Aurora's care, primarily so the young magic caster could be kept tabs on and her brash nature suppressed. Unfortunately the opposite came true; she became bolder in her magic casting ability, openly casting it whilst not in her church garb and encouraged Aurora to do the same, instead of only using it in dire circumstances. The pair became infamous under the alter-egos: The Gold and Silver Witches. In 484 NP, with the money the pair accumulated over the years of their partnership, they commissioned creation of the Sister Shields, a pair of retractable dwarven shields disguised as bangles. The shields were the pairs pride and joy as well as a status symbol for their position within the Order, both of them now being exemplary paladins. Evenguard wore her shield on her left arm allowing her right arm to be free for casting over the top of the combined shields. At the time of their partnership, Evenguard was one of very few people to know of Aurora's true nature, and the first non-representative to learn of her heritage. Post-Ascension Evenguard became the representative of the Paladin in 503 NP, being the obvious choice due to the similarities in nature and being blessed with his gift (although this was kept hidden from the general populous to avoid conflict with the state). On the day of her Ascension Aurora took the mantel of the last name TruthShield from her, as a mark of respect for her "shield sister". She served as the representative of the Paladin through the troubling times of The Civil War, deeming it in the best interest of The Church to stay neutral and instead act as a peace keeping force, keeping the fighting as far away from none-combatants as possible and sending aid to those trapped in conflict areas. In 514 NP, she commissioned the Sister Shields to be improved to their current state, adding a number of refinements and extra components. One such addition was a magical conduit allowing the pair to transfer magical power across the combined shield and also project it forward. Plans were also in place to create a second weapon, a sword of some description but these plans never came to fruition. She died in the year 529 NP at age 71. On her deathbed she passed her shield onto Aurora and ordered any records of the two's activities together and any mentions of her last name to be stricken from the records. Her final words were "I know you will do my last name proud. Just remember "Those damned witches can't be separated" heheh". The next day Aurora arrived with large open wounds on her arms, the shields embedded into her flesh. Evenguard is buried at The Plaza of the Angels in Tier II, in the crypt beneath the statue of the Paladin, along with all other representatives. She was buried in full battle armour with a replica of her shield, a casting of a lighting bolt and a lock of Aurora's hair, much to the frustration of the priests who deemed it to break some sort of rule.